Jack Frost
by Gage39
Summary: Facing their old enemy Pitch Black the Guardians call on Jack Frost for help only to be rebuffed by the boy they abandoned. While fighting Pitch and his new apprentice, a boy who can control winter, the Guardians discover that even the slightest inaction can have the greatest consequences. Better than it sounds!
1. Prologue: Pitch

Jack Frost

Prologue: Pitch

Once upon a time there lived a boy named Jack Frost. But he was not like other boys, having the power to control the entire season of winter itself. Now ordinarily that wouldn't be so bad but he was invisible. As long as no one believed in him he could not be seen. Now Jack wasn't the only person with special powers; there was Santa (or North as he preferred), Sandman, Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny. But he was the only one that was invisible. He had tried going to the others for help but had been rebuffed at every turn. Yetis had kicked him out of the North Pole, giant eggs from the Warren, some cute baby tooth fairies had pecked at him and Sandman had simply been too busy. And so Jack wandered the Earth for three hundred lonely years, hoping that there was someone out there who would eventually take notice of him. Attempts to grab their attention had all backfired, resulting in blizzards, the Titanic and the infamous Blizzard of '68 which had been a complete accident. He had been noticed but only long enough for them to yell at him, resulting in even more storms until he had finally retreated, tears rolling down his icy face as he flew away towards the frozen lake.

Once there he curled up in a fetal position on the middle of the ice and began to cry. Not just the hurt tears of earlier but every emotion that he had kept bottled up inside him since that first night he awoke. He was unaware of how long he remained like that but when he finally stopped the snow was already seven feet thick despite the weather forecast that had called for clear skies and a sunny Easter Sunday on April 5, 1968. Oh boy. The Guardians were so not going to be happy about this.

"And who cares what they think?" a voice spoke suddenly, startling the poor boy.

"Who's there?" Jack demanded, grabbing his staff and holding it threateningly in front of him.

The voice laughed and then black tendrils of sand began flying through the air. "You may call me Pitch Black. And you are Jack Frost."

Jack's eyes widened momentarily. He had heard of Pitch Black before; more commonly known as 'The Boogeyman' or, as Jack liked to call him secretly, 'Sandman's Evil Twin'. "What do you want with me?" Jack was extremely proud of the fact that neither his hand nor his voice trembled.

"Merely to be your friend," Pitch replied as the sand took on a more human like form, his yellow eyes glowing.

Jack snorted. "Yeah right. Did the Easter Bunny make a temporary truce to put you up to this?"

For a moment Pitch looked startled then shook his head. "Not even the Guardians would stoop that low. Yet," he added as an afterthought.

"Whatever," Jack shook his head and turned to walk away. "Just leave me alone."

"Why? So you can go back to your meaningless existence? So you can be ignored by everyone, including the Guardians who have sworn to make all children of the world happy? Every child, that is except for you," his voice sank to a whisper. A whisper that chilled Jack Frost to the very core and caused him to turn around and face the Boogeyman.

"And what do you want from me?" Jack asked. "I don't really want to destroy all the kids in the world."

"How about the Guardians?" Pitch suggested with a sly smile. "You don't even have to say yes right now. Just promise me that you'll think about it."

Jack hesitated then reluctantly nodded. "I'll think about it but I refuse to make any promises."

"It's a deal!" Pitch crowed as he outstretched his hand. "But don't mention this to the Guardians. They might not like it."

"All the more reason to do it," Jack sighed but agreed to the Boogeyman's terms as he shook hands with the other man.

Tendrils of black sand snaked up Jack's arm, traveling all the way to his head, leaving the winter spirit slightly disorientated as Pitch Black disappeared. Mere seconds later the Guardians showed up, the Bunny looking ready to murder Jack, with North not looking very inclined to help.

"You ruined Easter!" the Easter Bunny yelled, pulling out a boomerang as he advanced on the young boy.

To their surprise Jack didn't say anything; his blue eyes fixated on something they couldn't see.

"Well, don't you have anything to say for yourself?" the Bunny demanded.

Jack slowly shook his head. "Why bother?" his voice sounded awfully bitter and so unlike Jack Frost that they all felt chills go up and down their spines. "It's not like you guys care about anything I have to say in the slightest."

Warning bells were going off in Sandman's head and he tried to catch North's attention but was ignored.

"We do care," North said.

"You've got a funny way of showing it," was all Jack would say before rising into the air. "Now if you'll excuse me I've got an appointment to keep in Canada."

Startled, they all watched as the boy disappeared into the distance, snow shrouding him from their gazes. But Sandman watched with even more concern as he saw just a little bit of black sand disappear from the spot where Jack had been standing.

* * *

A/N: Let me know if this is any good and I will try to have the rest uploaded soon. But I do require 3 reviews per chapter.


	2. Sandman & Jack

Jack Frost

Chapter 1: Sandman & Jack

It had been over fifty years since the Blizzard of '68 and Jack still had yet to return. Oh he was still in Burgess mind you but he hadn't been the same since then. No more pranks on the Easter Bunny or attempts to break into Warrens or palaces. Whether or not he still tried to break into the North Pole was another matter entirely; the yetis still hadn't told North about Jack's attempts to gain entrance. Everyone was just a little worried but relieved at the same time, praying that Jack had finally started to mature a little bit. Everyone that is except for Sandman that is. He and he alone had seen the black sand and thought it best to tackle Jack on his own instead of trying to bring in Bunny or North as neither one of them got along with Jack.

So Sandman sat out one beautiful morning to the small town of Burgess where he could already see Jack's handiwork taking place. He chuckled as he watched Jack take a small boy on a wild sled ride through town, culminating in a lost tooth. Amusement quickly turned to sadness when he saw Jack standing there by himself, looking incredibly lost and lonely. Could they have prevented this? If the Guardians had stepped in would Jack be looking like he was fixing to cry (Sandman hoped not; Jack's anger was bad enough but his crying was even worse)? The answer? Possibly. If the boy didn't make Jack cry then no doubt one of them would. He knew for a fact that Bunny and North were vying for top position in that category although North was winning by a slight lead. It wasn't that they meant to hurt Jack's feelings but they did. And then Jack would get upset and go on a rampage that ended in, oh say, the Titanic. Then the Guardians would lay into him for not being able to control his emotions then carry on with their lives, leaving behind a confused, angry little boy.

Sandman shook his head rapidly and let out a little bit of dream dust. It stopped in front of Jack who straightened slightly upon seeing it. When the dust turned into dolphins swimming in the ocean a small grin broke out on Jack's face as he chased it all the way to the lake that stayed frozen year round. He hovered in the air and watched the dolphins for a few minutes then turned to Sandman.

"You didn't come all this way just to cheer me up. What screw-up did I make this time? Must be a doozy if they're sending you first."

Sandman winced. In truth that was the only reason the Guardians ever crossed paths with Jack. It was sad really. The youngest immortal that they had ever had was condemned to a life of solitude, his elders stopping by long enough to berate him then move on again. Sandman shook his head.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "I didn't do anything?" his tone sounded slightly dubious. "If I didn't then why are you even here?"

Sandman considered how to best answer this then wrote the word 'concerned' overtop his head.

Jack snorted. "Since when are any of you guys concerned about me? The only time I ever cross your minds is when I've done something wrong. Again."

Once again Sandman was forced to wince upon being reminded how much pain they had heaped upon the young Winter Spirit. Then he counted himself lucky that he hadn't gotten iced yet. That's what usually happened whenever North tried his 'Jack we care about you but you're a danger to us all' speech. Either that or when Bunny tried telling him to take better control of his emotions. That had definitely been a few interesting hours trying to dig the icicles out of Bunny's backside while Jack glowered from overhead. But as interesting as the past was Sandman forced himself to keep his mind on the present.

The little man made out of sand created a giant eye.

Jack raised his eyebrow again. "I saw…"

Now how to best describe black… after deciding that the word would just have to suffice Sandman wrote it next then 'sand.'

Jack's face became clouded as did the previously clear sky. "It's nothing, Sandy. Pitch promised not to do anything until I made my choice." Then his eyes grew wide and he clapped his hands over his mouth as he realized what he had just said.

Sandman alternated between freaking out and…freaking out. He chose the latter. Words flew over his head so fast that poor Jack looked rather dizzy as he tried to follow them.

"I didn't promise him anything!" Jack protested. "I just said I would think about it."

Sandman groaned. By writing the word overhead. Then, 'Pitch isn't known for keeping his word, Jack. If you're not careful he'll overtake you and turn you into a fearling."

"Nonsense," Jack declared. "He won't do anything to me and I won't do anything to you unless you promise _not _to tell the others. Agreed?"

Thoughts of what Jack would do to him filled Sandman's head. None of them pleasant and all of them involving ice. Lots and lots of ice. Reluctantly he nodded. 'It's your choice' he wrote.

"I know," Jack said solemnly then brightened. "Care for a game of ice baseball?"

Sandman wanted so desperately to say know but found that he couldn't when faced with Jack's wide, eager blue eyes. 'Only if you don't cheat.'

"Sandy," Jack pouted. "I'm hurt that you would even think that I would cheat at a game."

Sandy merely raised both eyebrows pointedly and Jack conceded the point then threw an ice ball. It was so going to be a long day.

* * *

Meanwhile, lurking in the shadows of the trees, Pitch Black watched Jack and Sandman enjoy the game. "Have fun all you can, Jack. Soon I'll be able to force you to work for me without having to turn you into a fearling!"

* * *

A/N: 3 reviews please. Will try to upload another chapter later in the morning before I go to work. Really just depends. Glad you guys liked the first one!


	3. Offer of the Guardians

Jack Frost

Chapter 2: Offer of the Guardians

To say that Bunnymund was in shock would be the understatement of the past decade. Jack Frost…a Guardian?! Even North looked less than enthused while Tooth fluttered around happily, exclaiming about Jack's teeth. And the Sandman? He just looked very, very worried as dream sand spun around him, creating the words 'This is a bad idea'.

"Well what are we waiting for?" North exclaimed. "Let's go get Jack Frost!"

* * *

It took a while but they finally tracked Jack Frost down and Bunny was sent to fetch him. While he honestly didn't mind a feeling of foreboding kept making itself known. Maybe it was because Sandy kept repeating 'this is a bad idea' over and over again. And if Sandy thought something was a bad idea then it generally was. While Bunny didn't necessarily approve of Jack he had to admit that the young winter spirit seemed to care for the children. At least a little bit that is. Although he certainly did not respect other people's holidays.

Jack hadn't been difficult to get a hold of although Bunny felt a glimmer of guilt when the yetis grabbed him, suddenly remembering what had happened last time Jack and the yetis had mixed. But he said nothing and followed in one of his tunnels (he was not going anywhere near that crazy portal) and arrived mere seconds before Jack did. He did feel slightly guilty once more when he saw the fear shining in Jack's blue eyes before he caught sight of Sandy standing next to North. Were the Guardians really that bad and terrifying?

Once they had gotten past the initial 'why am I here?' and Jack's little temper tantrum things seemed to settle down once more. For all of two seconds that is.

"Naughty or nice, we protect the children of the world," North concluded.

Jack snorted in derision. "Yeah right," he said. "So what category do I fall under?"

"We already discussed that," Bunny grumbled. "In my opinion you fall under 'Worst Child of the Year'."

Sandman was already shaking his head in dismay, sadness on his face.

"Nice of course," Tooth chirped in brightly, ignoring the giant Australian rabbit. "All of the Guardians are on the Nice list."

"And if I don't want to be a Guardian?" Jack raised a single eyebrow, silently challenging her.

"Why wouldn't you want to be?" she asked, blinking her pretty eyes at him in stupefaction. After all, who wouldn't want to be one?

At that Sandman face palmed and backed up several steps, 'uh-oh' now in the air.

"The four of you," Jack began through clenched teeth, the room temperature already dropping several degrees. "Left me alone for over three hundred years. No words of advice on how to control my powers or how to make people see me. All you ever did was yell at me for not being able to control my powers," snow was swirling in the air now. "And when I tried to ask you how I could all you did was run me off! So give me one good reason right now why I should help you!"

North looked slightly taken aback and Tooth was already sniffling. "The children," North began.

"The same children that don't believe in me?" the biting question was directed at Bunny who winced and shuffled his big feet uneasily.

Jack laughed bitterly as he rose into the air. "I was right; you can't give me a good reason!" and with that he shot out of the room and the sounds of crashes and muffled yeti curses signaled that he had left the building.

Tooth by now was sobbing her head off. "How could we have been so cruel?!" she wailed, the Baby Tooth Fairies adding in their sorrowed squeaks. "We swore to protect the children of the world but we neglected Jack! Our own immortal child!"

Sandman just kept sighing and shaking his head, the words 'I told you so' appearing.

* * *

Jack flew away as fast as he could, tears rolling down his cheeks. He honestly couldn't believe that the Guardians would do that to him! How dare they abandon him and then ask him to join? Worse yet, how could they start bringing up that junk about caring for all the children of the world after abandoning him?! Suddenly Jack stopped when he realized that he was in a very unfamiliar place. _Where am I?_ he wondered.

"There you are, Jack," a voice said. "I've been waiting for you."

Jack turned and wasn't the least bit surprised to see Pitch Black standing there. "I'm willing to help you," he said. "I'll help you destroy the Guardians."

* * *

A/N: Sorry this chapter's so short but I'm trying to find a free download of 'Rise of the Guardians'. If you know of one please let me know. I'm dying to have that movie! 3 reviews (at least) before the next chapter.


	4. Pitch's New Accomplice

Jack Frost

Chapter 3: Pitch's New Accomplice

It didn't take long for Pitch to rear his ugly head again and all too soon the Guardians found themselves going up against the Nightmare King in the small town of Burgess late one night.

"What do you want, Pitch?" North demanded angrily, his swords at the ready.

"What do I want?" Pitch pretended to look hurt. "Why merely to be noticed of course. That's all we've ever wanted."

"Hold up, what do you mean 'we', mate?" Bunny asked suspiciously.

Sandman already had a look of dread on his face as if he knew what Pitch was talking about.

"He's talking about me," an all too familiar voice said as Jack Frost descended, snow swirling around him.

"I believe you've already met my accomplice," Pitch smirked.

To say that the Guardians were shocked would have been an understatement. Bunnymund's mouth hung wide open while the Tooth Fairy gasped in shock and North's eyes widened. Sandman merely looked sad, as if he had already known where Jack would end up.

Jack's next words confirmed Sandy's worst fears. "I've made my choice, Sandy. I'm going to help Pitch destroy the Guardians."

North whirled on Jack. "Why would you want to destroy us?"

"Didn't we already have this conversation earlier?" Jack looked slightly confused. "The whole 'you guys abandoned me for three hundred years' thing?"

"They never listen," Pitch shook his head sadly.

"That's obvious," Jack muttered darkly. "If they had then the Titanic would still be here. And there wouldn't have been a Blizzard of '68 or any other blizzards for that matter."

"What are you going on about, mate?" Bunny demanded. "You're the one that caused those blizzards; not us."

"There wouldn't have been any blizzards if you hadn't pushed me away!" with that Jack unleashed his winter Fury on all of the Guardians. Bunny found himself frozen inside a block of ice while Tooth fell to the ground after her wings had been frozen. North slipped on a patch of ice and fell heavily to the ground, the ice cracking ominously. Sandy was lucky; he managed to dodge the ice blasts that Jack sent his way but just barely. He didn't, however, escape Pitch's nightmares as easily.

The fearlings attacked quickly and fiercely, doing their best to kill the Guardians and very nearly succeeding. Bunny got free just in time to dispatch his boomerangs through three fearlings while the Baby Tooth Fairies wasted no time in pecking Tooth free from her ice. North used his swords to help him stand up then began cutting and slashing. Sandy used his sand whips to try and catch Pitch but he was too fast.

As if Pitch's fearlings weren't bad enough now they were forced to battle Jack Frost as well. They had all (except for Tooth) encountered the young winter spirit at some point or another and had no desire to get on his bad side if they could help it. Unfortunately, judging by how harshly the wind was blowing, it appeared that they weren't doing a very good job of that. The snow was also obscuring their vision, making it very difficult for Bunny to use either his boomerangs or egg bombs as he couldn't risk hurting the others. North couldn't see very far ahead and was forced to use his fists instead of swords while Tooth merely flew here and there, her Baby Tooth Fairies pecking at the shadows.

No one could see Sandy and didn't pay him any mind until they heard Jack's anguished cry of, "Sandy!"

Immediately the snow stopped falling and the Guardians watched in horror as their friend was overtaken by the black sand.

"No!" Jack yelled and…exploded was the only word that any of them could come up with. A surge of blue energy enveloped his body and continued, dispelling all of the black sand and forcing Pitch to retreat. Jack descended to the ground, snow once again falling. He simply stood there, head bowed before taking off to the skies once more, the snow and harsh winds following him.

The Guardians stayed there for a few more minutes before North spoke. "Let us return to the Pole," he said at last, his Russian accent thick with grief. "There we can mourn Sandy in private."

The other two simply nodded and followed him to the sleigh, Bunny for once not saying anything about riding in it.

* * *

A/N: Sorry that this chapter is so short. Again. Glad you guys liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well. 3 reviews (at least). The more reviews the faster I update so…keep 'em coming!


	5. Mourning

Jack Frost

Chapter 4: Mourning

The ride back to the North Pole was quiet as each Guardian struggled to come to terms with what they had seen that night. They still couldn't wrap their minds around the fact that Jack Frost had joined Pitch but most of all they couldn't reconcile themselves to the fact that Sandy was…gone.

Tooth couldn't remember the last time a Guardian had died. In fact, she couldn't remember if a Guardian ever _had _died. But the fact that Sandy had died because of something the Guardians had done (or in this case _hadn't_ done) set less even well with her. Had the Guardians really been that cruel to Jack? Had their ignoring him really led to Sandy's death? Oh she knew he hadn't wanted Sandy to die; had seen and heard the anguish in his voice but she doubted the others would care. Especially Bunny. He and Jack hadn't got along since that Blizzard or '68 business. Maybe if she had taken time once or twice a month to go and meet the winter spirit this wouldn't have happened.

_This is all my fault,_ North decided. _I'm the leader of the Guardians. Maybe if I had taken the initiative to welcome the boy the others would have accepted him too. I know Sandy and tooth would have. They would've enjoyed spoiling him rotten and treating him like the child none of us have ever had. Bunny? I'm not so sure but he might have come around in time. And maybe none of this would have happened._

Unbeknownst to the others similar thoughts were running through Bunny's head as well. "I might have been just a little bit harsh with the kid," he muttered to himself. "He's just a boy really. It's not his fault that he was the youngest one of us. Actually that's all the more reason why we should have taken care of him. Maybe if I had left him an Easter egg or two every year none of this would have happened."

All too soon they arrived back at the Pole and, ignoring the yetis' worried questions went to the main observatory where the globe was. They managed to ignore the little lights that flickered before completely disappearing and not returning. They stood in a circle, their eyes fixated on the floor beneath them.

North was the first to speak. "Sandy was a good friend. He could not talk but he found other ways to communicate with us and with the children. His memory will live in our hearts for all eternity…"

He was interrupted by the windows banging open, bringing with them snow and very cold winds. Jack Frost entered seconds later, the snow and winds calming down after he had descended.

"What do you want?" Bunny demanded, grabbing a boomerang.

But Jack just ignored him and walked over to one of the walls. A look of concentration appeared on his face as he drew something on the wall then he backed away and nodded his head in satisfaction. He made his way back over to the window and prepared to cast off again. But before he did he turned to look at them and said, "I really am sorry about Sandy," then jumped out the window.

The Guardians turned to look at the wall and were surprised to see an icy outline of Sandy. "He made a memorial of Sandy," Tooth muttered sadly. "That way we can never forget him."

"We'll miss you, Sandy," Bunny whispered then whirled on North when something occurred to him. "Oi! Jack Frost was just here and we're just going to let him get away?"

He was about to hop after the young winter spirit when North shook his head and laid a hand on Bunnymund's arm. "Let him go, Bunny. He truly misses Sandy as do we. Let him mourn as he is letting us mourn and perhaps later we shall 'get him' as you say."

Bunny didn't seem to be too appeased but he reluctantly acquiesced, grumbling the entire time.

* * *

Jack, meanwhile, was flying back toward Pitch's lair, the heavy snow and ice proclaiming to anyone that knew him that he was upset. And why shouldn't he be? He had been partially responsible for Sandy's death and would now have to pay the consequences. But first he still had a job to do.

Pitch wasn't the least bit surprised when Jack Frost entered, snow and wind swirling around him as he glared at the Nightmare King. "Come to stop me, Jack?" Pitch didn't even bother waiting for an answer. "There's no need to even try you know. When we shook hands all those years ago? Some of my black sand passed itself on to you and has been slowly infecting your brain ever since. Your thoughts are yours but your actions are now mind. I'm in your head, Jack Frost, and I always will be. So what do you say we destroy the rest of the Guardians? After that I just might be inclined to set you free."

Jack glared at the Boogeyman, black dancing around the edges of his normally blue eyes. After a brief internal struggle he bowed his head and nodded. "Whatever you say, Pitch."

Pitch's lips curled in a smile. "Enjoy that small victory while you still can, Jack. Now, let's get to work."

* * *

A/N: Sorry it's so short. Please review and let me know what you to the main observatory where the globe wa


	6. Sandy's Letter

Jack Frost

Chapter 5: Sandy's Letter

After Jack's surprise visit the Guardians remained around the ice memorial of their fallen friend for several minutes. Until Tooth suddenly cried, "My fairies! They're not gathering any teeth!"

"What?" North sprang to attention immediately.

"They don't know where they are," Tooth continued, as if speaking to herself. "It's just so dark and so cold…" her voice trailed off.

"Frost and Pitch," Bunny growled. "I told you we should have stopped him from leaving."

Before North could say anything several grains of golden sand flew through the window. They were about to let out cheers of joy when the sands formed into a letter instead of a familiar little man.

_My Dear Friends,_

_If you are reading this then I am no doubt dead. Done, no doubt, by Pitch's hand with the help of Jack Frost. No, my friends, I am not surprised that he has joined forces with our enemy for Pitch offered him the one thing we refused him: attention. But do not blame Jack; he is not in full possession of himself. When Jack took off after the Blizzard of '68 I saw black sand dissolve into the ground where he had been standing. It did not take long for me to discover that Pitch Black had indeed been there and offered Jack a deal. I confronted him about it but he made me promise not to tell you that Pitch had visited. Now, I regret that promise. For I fear Pitch has found a way to gain control of our young immortal and use him to accomplish his own evil works. I wish I were there, my friends, so that I might help rid the boy of Pitch but that task has now fallen to you, my friends. You must free Jack and right the wrongs that we did against him. You must show him that he does belong somewhere and help him find a way to become visible. I trust that you can accomplish this mission for everything that we (and Jack) hold dear hangs in the balance._

_Sincerely,_

_Sandman_

Tooth was openly sobbing by the time North finished reading the letter and even Bunny's eyes shone brightly. "He knew he was going to die," Tooth wailed. "He knew and he still didn't tell us."

"Pitch took control of him way back then?" Bunny muttered. "Poor little blighter. I guess he can't help himself."

"It does not matter," North said, his accent thicker than usual. "We should not choose now to feel sorry for Jack; now that we find out he is being controlled. We should have tried to help him a long time ago before this mess started. But now is not the time for this. We have Tooth's fairies to worry about."

Tooth looked startled as if she had forgotten about her miniature selves then nodded. "But I don't know where they are," she protested. "Everything's dark and they were taken at the homes of the children…" her voice trailed off as something occurred to her.

"But if you don't get the teeth, mate, then the kiddies won't believe in you anymore," Bunny pointed out, his Australian accent thick as well.

"Then we shall gather them ourselves," North declared.

Bunny looked ready to protest but wisely kept his mouth shut as they set off.

* * *

Gathering teeth was a lot harder than it looked, especially as they kept encountering fearlings at every house they went to. Every house that is, except for the last one in the small town of Burgess. At that particular house they encountered Jack Frost. The window was already open and he stood next to the bed, a peculiar look on his face as he stared down at the small boy. He turned around, staff at the ready then relaxed when he realized who they were.

"He lost his tooth in a sledding accident," Tooth announced brightly.

"It was an accident," Jack mumbled. "The couch was the only thing that hit him."

"I bet he had fun until then," Tooth said kindly as she neared the pillow, a quarter held in one hand.

Jack's staff touched the pillow first, frost quickly spreading over the bed. The boy shivered, causing Jack to instantly yank his staff away and look pained for a minute. "I won't take away his belief," he whispered roughly. "Besides, you guys have enough work to do what with Easter coming and all that." And in the blink of an eye he was gone, the sudden chill the only evidence that he had ever been there.

"That was sweet of him," North whispered.

"He caused a kid to get by a couch," Bunny argued. "How is that sweet?" then, "Easter?! It's tomorrow!"

* * *

A/N: Next up; Easter! Glad you guys have liked it so far. Let me know what you think! The more reviews, the sooner (and longer) the chapters.


	7. Easter Preparations

Jack Frost

Chapter 6: Easter Preparations

Easter, as it turned out, was just a little bit harder to prepare for than Christmas. Not that North would ever admit that out loud of course. But at least he had all year to get ready; Bunny only had the space of a few days thanks to the delicate nature of his eggs. The Guardians (plus a stray elf and two yetis) had all been assigned eggs to paint, much to the yetis dismay as they weren't allowed to use 'Christmas' colors such as red and green. It took them the better part of the night but they finally finished. Tooth was yawning and covered in springy colored paint while North's beard was now spotted with pink and blue. The elf was steadily licking his paintbrush clean and the yetis did their best not to crush any fragile eggs. Only Bunny looked his normal unflappable self while he hopped to and fro, making sure that all the eggs were in their proper baskets and placed before proper entrances.

"We're all set," the six-foot-one rabbit announced at last. "And I'm ready to go."

"Have fun," Tooth said cheerfully.

"Are you sure you do not need our help?" North asked worriedly.

Bunny waved off his concern with a giant paw. "I'll be fine, mate," he assured the much fatter Guardian.

"But what if you run into trouble?" Tooth asked.

"I'll be fine," Bunny reiterated.

* * *

Two hours later he was rethinking that statement and wishing he could call for help. Immediately after arriving at his first destination he had been attacked by the fearlings. Apparently the children's disbelief had started increasing Pitch's power as he was now five times stronger and his fearlings did not dissipate as quickly. He had considered calling for help but had quickly been so overwhelmed that he hadn't had time to. It took a while but he eventually managed to defeat the fearlings and retreat back to his Warren where he planned to regroup and gather more eggs. When he finally arrived back at his home, however, all thoughts fled from his mind as he simply stood there, staring in shock.

"What happened 'ere?" he finally managed to croak out.

"The fearlings," Tooth replied. "There were just so many of them and they were so strong…" her voice trailed off sadly.

"We tried," North picked up where she had left off. "But by the time we had defeated them they had already destroyed all your eggs. We are sorry, Bunny."

Bunny's shoulders slumped and he sternly told himself that he wouldn't cry.

"But the elf did find them," Tooth pointed to a spot behind him.

Bunny whirled around and could have fainted in relief when he saw the fifteen lonely eggs huddled together. Fifteen wasn't a lot but it was just enough to make this Easter do a turnaround. "I might not be able to deliver eggs everywhere today but I can at least deliver them to Burgess," he declared.

* * *

A few minutes later Bunny hopped his way into Burgess. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized. "I know these aren't my best bunch but…" his voice trailed off when he realized that none of the children had noticed him yet.

"I guess he's not coming," one little girl muttered dejectedly.

"I always thought he would come," another boy whispered.

"That just proves he's not real," one girl declared, her large size misidentifying her as a pre-teen instead of the nine that she was.

"Come on, guys," a boy with glasses said. "Cupcake's right; the Easter Bunny's not real and he's not coming."

With that the children got up and proceeded to walk through Bunny. It was a curious sensation; pain spread throughout his abdomen and even reached his heart. For the first time in his unnaturally long life E. Aster Bunnymund was invisible and it frightened him to the very core of his body.

"It's not a pleasant feeling is it," a voice said.

Startled, Bunny spun around to see Jack Frost hovering behind him, pity shining in his blue eyes. "Don't know what you're talking about, mate," Bunny said evasively.

The look Jack gave him plainly said to stop acting like an idiot. "Being walked through," he replied. "The pain will never go away, you know. Eventually it will recede but every time it happens you store up a little more of it until you feel like you're going to bust if you don't let it out. And when you do something winds up getting destroyed like the Titanic and then everyone starts yelling at you." His voice turned bitter at the end of the sentence as he glared off into the distance.

"I'm truly sorry about that, mate," Bunny said. And he was sorry. For the first time in his life he understood exactly how Jack Frost felt and he didn't like it one bit.

Jack snorted. "It's a little late for apologies," he said. "All too soon the time for revenge will be ours." And with that he took off into the skies again before Bunny had a chance to say anything else.

The rabbit stayed where he was, allowing tears to trickle down his fur covered cheeks before heading back to his Warren.

* * *

A/N: Glad you guys liked the last chapter! Hope you like this one as well! Remember; the more review the longer and faster the chapters. Review please!


	8. Recruiting Jamie

Jack Frost

Chapter 7: Recruiting Jamie

It was the day after Easter and all of the Guardians were gathered at the North Pole, grimly watching the lights flicker out one by one.

"We've got to do something," North said as he paced up and down the length of the room.

"What do you propose we do, mate?" Bunny asked glumly as he tossed his boomerangs up and down. "None of the little blighters can see me anymore or Tooth for that matter. Sandy's gone and Jack Frost works with Pitch. And none of us even know where they are."

"Bunny has a point," Tooth agreed sadly as she curled up in a chair in front of the fire. "What's the point in fighting if we haven't a chance of winning?"

North stopped and turned to look at the two defeated Guardians in shock. "The children?!" he finally managed to say. "The children need our help. Jack Frost needs our help. Everyone needs our help!"

"And we need help," Bunny finished calmly. "The four of us weren't enough to stop Pitch before now; we certainly can't do it now that he's got Jack Frost and we're short Sandy."

At the mention of Sandy Tooth started crying again.

"Plus Tooth and I are effectively powerless. She can't fly anymore and I can't open a measly tunnel! Jack Frost can control winter and all you can do is pop up and down chimneys. How exactly are we supposed to stop them?"

North frowned and was lost in thought for several minutes before brightening. "The boy," he said happily.

"Which one?" Tooth asked. "There's a lot of boys out there."

"The one in Burgess; the one that Jack Frost let us deliver a quarter too. Jack obviously cares for him; perhaps we can use the boy to convince Jack to join us," North's eyes shone with excitement as he eagerly awaited his fellow Guardians' responses.

"And just how are we supposed to lure Jack to us?" Bunny wanted to know. "It took Sandy a while to locate him the first time."

North merely smirked. "I have idea," he said. "But it is very risky and involves going through my magic portal."

Bunny was already shaking his head. "Nope," he said. "No way am I going through that thing for any reason whatsoever."

"But if you don't then what chance do we have?" Tooth blinked her pretty eyes at Bunny and sniffled.

The rabbit groaned and banged his head against the wall. "Fine," his voice sounded slightly muffled. "I'll go through the portal."

"Good," North nodded in satisfaction then produced a globe from his pocket. "I say 'Burgess'," and threw it in front of him.

A swirling vortex appeared and the three Guardians walked through it, the portal disappearing behind them after Bunny entered. The various elves in the room watched with wide eyes then immediately made a beeline for the plate of cookies North had left sitting out.

* * *

Jamie was almost asleep when he heard it. The sound of muffled curses filling the air outside his window and immediately he was awake as he jumped up and ran to peer out the glass. There, standing in his front yard, was Santa Claus. But he wasn't alone; he had a beautiful hummingbird lady with him as well as a giant rabbit. His eyes grew wide and he whispered, "Wow."

"I told you we should have taken the sleigh," the rabbit grumped.

"But I thought you no like sleigh," Santa sounded slightly confused.

"That was fun!" the lady cried in delight. "Can we do it again?"

"No!" the Bunny said firmly. "No more portals! The minute I get my powers back I'm tunneling my way back to the Warren and staying there for the rest of my life."

"Do not be such a grouch, Bunny," Santa's voice sounded odd, much like the Russians on TV earlier. "We are in one piece. Now all we need to do is find the boy that Jack liked. Tooth; do you remember where he lived?"

"Right here," the lady said cheerfully as she pointed at Jamie's bedroom window.

Realizing that he'd been spotted Jamie's first instinct was to try and hide but quickly decided that Santa Claus was nothing to be afraid of. Besides, his friends looked cool and Jamie had always wanted to meet a talking rabbit before. Feeling slightly encouraged he pushed the window open and leaned out, waving at them. "I'm Jamie," he called. "I know that you're Santa but who are the other two?"

"I'm Tooth," the lady waved back at him, a smile lighting up her face.

"Bunny," the Bunny muttered. "Can we get this over with? We've got Pitch and Jack Frost to defeat and a world to save."

"Who's Jack Frost?" Jamie asked curiously as he climbed onto the windowsill.

"He brings winter," Tooth explained. "We call him the Winter Spirit."

"More like the Troublemaking Spirit if you ask me," Bunny grumbled.

"I've never heard of him," Jamie said then brightened. "Was he the one that made the snow Bunny dance around my room last night after I wondered if the Easter Bunny was real?"

Bunny blinked. "A snow Bunny?" he sounded slightly choked up.

Jamie nodded. "It was pretty," he explained. "At least until it burst into snowflakes and disappeared. I was wondering how the Easter Bunny could do that."

Bunny puffed up his chest. "I can do lots of," he began only to be interrupted by Santa.

"We do not have time for this," Santa said. "We need to get Jamie down here and then find Jack."

"Give me just a second," Jamie called and ducked back inside his room. He remained long enough only to pull on his shoes and jacket before running through the house and out the front door. "What do you need me to do?" he asked breathlessly.

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys like! I know it's slightly different from the movie here but that's the whole point. Thanks of all the reviews last time! Hope I get even more this time around!


	9. Jack & Jamie

Jack Frost

Chapter 8: Jack & Jamie

"Let me get this straight," Jamie spoke slowly, making sure that he understood what he was supposed to do. "You want me to pretend to be drowning in the Burgess Lake so this Jack Frost will come and save me."

Santa nodded. "Yes," he said proudly.

"What makes you so sure he'll come?" Jamie asked.

"Kid's got a good point, mate," Bunny pointed out. "We don't even know if Jack's keepin' an eye on the lake or the kid."

"Because Jack obviously cares for you, Jamie," Santa (or North as he said he preferred to be called) began to explain. "If he hadn't he would not have tried to reinforce your belief in Bunny here or allowed Tooth to give you a quarter. For some reason he likes you very much. I believe you are our only hope in convincing Jack to help us defeat Pitch."

Jamie still looked dubious but nodded. "And how am I supposed to tell who this Jack Frost is?"

Bunny snorted then broke out laughing. "Trust me, mate," he finally managed to gasp. "There's no way whatsoever that you could mistake him for someone else. Just try to keep your mind open and believe in him otherwise you'll sink faster than a yeti with six elves tied around its neck."

Poor Jamie looked so frightened that Tooth felt sorry and stepped in. "Don't worry, Jamie," she said soothingly even as she glowered at Bunny. "We won't let you drown. Even if Jack doesn't show up; we'll keep you safe."

Jamie nodded one more time; eager to postpone it as long as possible.

"You must go now," North said, giving the boy a gentle shove onto the ice. "We do not have time to waste."

"Easy for you to say," Jamie muttered as he managed to regain his footing and skated to the middle of the pond. "Now what do I do?" he called to the shore.

"Pretend to be drowning," North replied.

"How do I do that?" Jamie wanted to know.

"This way, mate," Bunny said and began hopping up and down on the side of the bank.

Jamie looked even more confused but slowly, reluctantly nodded then began jumping up and down as well. All too soon he heard an ominous crack beneath him and looked down to see a crack in the ice. "Well it's working," he sighed then cleared his throat. "Help!" he shouted. "The ice's breaking and I can't swim! Help!"

* * *

Jack was on his way to Burgess to launch an attack against the children when he heard the cry for help. He almost stopped but Pitch's voice in his head kept urging him forward and so he went. He was almost out of earshot when the cries got more desperate. Suddenly he realized that the voice belonged to Jamie! Ignoring everything else he did an abrupt turnabout and flew faster than ever before. Soon he was at the lake and immediately felt terror strike him.

Jamie was standing in the middle of the lake, the ice cracked beneath him and preparing to drop him completely. Jack's eyes narrowed and he flew straight at Jamie. The boy only had time to shriek one more time before Jack grabbed him around the waist and flew him to the other side of the lake. Carefully, he deposited his precious cargo in the snow and began berating him, even though he knew Jamie couldn't hear him.

"What were you thinking?" he bellowed. "What idiot goes ice skating at two o'clock in the morning?! And especially without anyone to keep an eye on you! Suppose you had fallen through the ice? We might not even be having this conversation right now! Well technically we're not having a conversation; I'm yelling at you although you can't hear me."

"I can hear you," Jamie looked slightly puzzled, as though he didn't understand why Jack was yelling.

"Of course you…wait. You can hear me?" Jack's blue eyes grew slightly wider and he stared breathlessly at the little boy.

Jamie nodded. "I knew I wouldn't drown cuz they said you wouldn't let me."

"They?" Jack's eyes narrowed, all the warmth in them fleeing only to be replaced by coldness and hatred.

Jamie gulped nervously and pointed to where the Guardians were peeking out from behind some trees.

Jack's eyes began glowing and the wind forced the three out in the open. "You put him up to this," he growled. "This is a new level of cruel even for you guys. He could have died!"

"We knew you would not let him die," North sounded confident.

"Too bad you can't say the same for yourselves," Jack raised his staff and snow began swirling around them.

Somebody tugged on his hoodie and Jack looked down, startled to see Jamie blinking up at him. "Please don't kill them," he whispered. "They just want you to help them take down the bad guy."

"I work for the bad guy," Jack told him. "But I suppose you want me to help them, right?"

Jamie nodded eagerly.

Jack sighed heavily and reluctantly lowered his staff. "I'm only helping because Jamie asked me to," he informed them. "And afterwards I get to go back to hating you guys. Deal?"

The three Guardians looked at each other then North nodded. "It is deal."

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys liked it. Glad you liked the other chapter. Let me know what you think. More reviews, the longer the chapter.


	10. The Turn of Jack Frost

Jack Frost

Chapter 9: The Turn of Jack Frost

Bunnymund thought it was too easy. Jack had been under Pitch's influence for over fifty years. But he had joined without a fight? Nuh-uh. Way too easy. And Bunny was right. Pitch had been in control the entire time. He had heard every single one of Jack's thoughts and had almost had him attack the Guardians then and there. But then it had occurred to him; this was the perfect opportunity to destroy them. His revenge would be so much more complete if they trusted Jack only to be betrayed by him! And once Jack had regained control of his body then he would be considered an outcast by the Guardians; never to again be trusted or loved or even welcomed. Even that silly little Tooth Fairy would reject him!

* * *

The Guardians walked back to Jamie's house, with the exception of Jack who was flying above them, Jamie holding on to him tightly. "This is fun!" the little boy whooped as they brushed the top of a chimney.

"Yes it is," Jack agreed as he pulled up just in time to avoid hitting a low hanging tree branch. "But not everyone thinks so," he added with a conspiratorial glance at Bunny.

"What?" Jamie was outraged. "How could anybody not like flying?"

"If man was meant to fly we would have been born with wings," Bunny called.

"Or blessed with magic staff," North added. "Or magic sleigh."

"I have wings," Tooth informed them. "But I currently can't fly," she said mournfully, her shoulders slumping.

Jamie was just about to ask why when suddenly Jack dropped him. The boy shrieked in surprise and, fortunately for him, was caught by Bunny. "Watch it, mate!" the giant rabbit called. "You're losing passengers."

Jack didn't answer but instead shot a bolt of ice at them.

"Why are his eyes turning yellow?" Jamie asked Bunny who looked up and scowled.

"Pitch," he growled as he carefully sat the boy down.

"Bunny, remember he has no control over his actions," North warned.

"I don't care," and with that Bunny leapt into the air, his boomerangs and egg bombs taking care of some of the snow and ice. And he himself landed right on Jack Frost.

The winter spirit yelped in surprise then quickly recovered and shoved Bunny off of him. Wind carried the Easter Bunny a short distance and deposited him on one of the reindeer who quickly made its displeasure of having a passenger known. "I'm gonna kill him!" the rabbit howled just as he managed to hop his way back to the actual sleigh.

"But this is fun!" Jamie protested.

"Kids," North mumbled. "They have such funny ideas of fun."

Now, as they watched, Jack began to use even more power than they had thought him capable of. So much ice and snow flew at them Tooth was surprised they hadn't been turned into snowmen! Apparently Bunny was wondering the same thing because he asked, "Why hasn't he gotten it over with yet?"

"Look at his eyes," North pointed then was forced to grab hold of the reins again.

The other two Guardians frowned in confusion as they looked then their eyes widened. Jack's eyes were alternating between yellow and blue, indicating that a struggle was going on somewhere inside him.

"You must fight, Jack!" North called out to the young Immortal. "You must fight Pitch's control."

Jack didn't respond but the weather continued to grow more and more violent. It wasn't long before he disappeared from view completely, the snow swirling around him acting as an effective shield. Suddenly, Jack flew from the snow and towards the sleigh, his eyes now bright yellow.

"Guess we know who won," Bunny muttered as they braced for impact.

To their immense surprise Jack didn't hit the sleigh but instead flew headfirst into a tree. They all winced as he fell to the ground, his eyes closed and his body completely still. But then the wind caught him and placed him gently on the snow covered earth.

North landed the sleigh and they got out, hesitantly walking towards him. "Is he dead?" Jamie asked in a whisper.

"He's Immortal," Bunny said. "The word is self-explanatory."

"Well we're Immortal too," Tooth pointed out, earning herself a dirty look from Bunny.

They had almost reached Jack when he suddenly sat up, black sand falling out of his hair as he blinked big blue eyes at them. "Hi," he said brightly. "What's up?"

* * *

A/N: Yes, I know. Very short. Sorry that the last chapter was a little…abrupt. I keep forgetting that you guys don't share my head and therefore my thought processes. I'll try to better; I promise.

Oh and I put a poll on my profile. So go there and vote for which 'Rise of the Guardians' story you want next! The synopsis' can be found on my profile page as well, closer to the bottom.

Thanks again and don't forget to review!\\\\\\\\\\\\\\


	11. Jack's POV

Jack Frost

Chapter 10: Jack's POV

Dark. Everything was dark. Jack floated in a sea of darkness, soft pinpricks of light penetrating every now and then but when he tried to catch them they simply disappeared. He could hear voices as well; Bunny and North were talking and occasionally he could hear Tooth also. Then it seemed to him that he could hear Jamie...screaming for help. He seized hold of his staff and flew as fast as he could. He could feel his body responding to his urgent demands and was relieved to see that Jamie was all right. The relief quickly dissipated, however, when he realized that Pitch was also taking an interest in the young boy.

"Fascinating," Pitch mused. "That such an insignificant creature could temporarily weaken my hold on you. But, no matter. Destroy them all, Jack."

"No!" Jack cried. "Please don't make me do this, Pitch. I'll do anything you want; just please don't make me hurt Jamie."

"Hmm," Pitch seemed to be considering this then said, "tell you what, Jack. I'll let your friends live but only so you can betray them at a later date. The betrayal will harm them more than anything I could have ever done and then they will reject you. So yes, they may live. But only for now."

The rest of the meeting with Jamie and the Guardians passed by in a blur as Pitch's words kept ringing through Jack's head; _So yes, they may live. But only for now. But only for now. But only for now._

* * *

They were on their way back to Jamie's house when Jack devised a foolproof plan to not only keep himself from betraying the Guardians but also to keep himself from letting the Guardians hurt him. Again. Taking a deep breath he let go of Jamie, knowing that the Guardians would catch him and immediately assume Pitch had taken control of Jack once again and try to destroy him. Somewhere, deep inside, he hoped that they could destroy him. Perhaps that way he would finally be free of the dark thoughts that plagued him as well as the isolation and loneliness.

Once he started attacked he was relieved to see that Bunnymund wasn't holding back (well he would have been surprised if the Easter Bunny _had_) although the others were. It was obvious that they knew he was under Pitch's control and so they weren't giving him their all. _How stupid_, he thought dully. _Sandy wouldn't have held back._ He tried to keep from hurting the Guardians if at all possible; a very difficult task indeed seeing as how Pitch kept trying to take control.

"You'll pay for this," Pitch warned. "You and all of your little friends. I'll destroy you all!"

"Easier said than done," Jack said merrily as one of his ice bolts just barely missed Tooth.

Pitch growled then continued attempting to regain control. The only outward sign of their battle was Jack's eyes as they alternated between blue and yellow. He could tell from the cries coming from North that the Guardians were also witnessing the internal battle and hoped that they were rooting for him. For reasons other than the alternative being Pitch Black. But being distracted had its downfall; for while he was thinking Pitch had used the opportunity to completely take over him. Jack was powerless as he watched his body advance on the hapless Guardians and Jamie. Oh Jamie. He was the first child that had ever believed in Jack and now Jack was going to kill him. How ironic is that?

But during Jack and Pitch's battle someone else other than the Guardians and Jamie had been observing. Now the wind had been Jack's only companion for over three hundred years and there was a good reason for that. Jack had never ordered them to do something but had always asked, being very polite about it as he did so. He was the only spirit that actually let the wind do what it wants and just go along with the flow. But something had changed fifty years ago after Pitch had shown up. He had become rude; ordering the wind to take him somewhere and refusing to go where it wanted. Now the wind had put up with this but now they had finally had enough. So when Jack launched his attacked on the Guardians the wind took matters into its own hands (so to speak) and instead let Jack hit a tree. When it became obvious that the boy wasn't going to land on his own two feet the wind helped out and placed him gently on the ground. They watched in satisfaction as the black sand fell from his white hair, knowing that soon their fun loving companion would be back to normal.

Jack groaned as he sat up, feeling very disoriented as he did so. He blinked in astonishment when he saw that the Guardians (sans Sandy) were advancing on him along with a small boy that looked vaguely familiar. "Hi," he said brightly, going for the friendly approach. Although something told him that it wouldn't work. At least not with Bunnymund.

* * *

A/N: Hope this one wasn't as abrupt and explained the last chapter a little better. Hope you guys liked. Please don't forget to vote and review!


	12. Jack's Back

Jack Frost

Chapter 11: Jack's Back

For a moment all North and Bunny could do was stand there and stare stupidly at Jack as he gazed wide-eyed at them from his position on the ground. Jamie also stared but only because one second Jack had saved his life, then tried to kill him and was now acting like nothing had happened. He wondered if this 'Jack Frost' character had some sort of mental problem although he had never heard of one called 'Pitch' before.

"So?" Jack said brightly. "What's going on and who's the kid?"

"You, you," Bunny seemed to have recovered his voice but, unfortunately, not his ability to string together a sentence.

"What is last thing you remember?" North asked, in a desperate attempt to save his colleague from any further embarrassment.

Jack frowned as he thought about for a second. "'68. I had just made it snow and was waiting for you guys to show up when somebody named Pitch came instead. After that, everything's a little fuzzy."

"Jack," North said slowly. "That was over fifty years ago."

Jack's blue eyes widened and the snow started coming down a little bit harder. "Fifty years?" his voice came out in a squeak.

"You really don't remember anything?" Bunny asked hopefully.

Jack shook his head. "Sorry," he said. "Can I go now? It's time to make another snowstorm."

At this Bunny lost what little remained of his temper. He reached out and with one giant paw slapped Jack's cheek then stomped away muttering, "Unbelievable," as he went.

Jack, North, and Jamie watched in shock as he stomped away, Jack's cheek turning a very interesting shade of red and his blue eyes misting over. "What did he do that for?" he sniffled.

North was about to say something grown-up when it occurred to him. Jack might be over three hundred years old but he was, for all intents and purposes, still a child. He thought like one and he acted like one so now was probably not the best time for North to start lecturing him like an adult. "It's been a very long, very difficult fifty years, Jack. These past two days specially and it has hit all of us hard but especially Bunny and Tooth…where is Tooth?"

* * *

Tooth, it turns out, was in very deep trouble. She had gone after a molar, forgetting that she couldn't fly, when she ran into a fearling. Now while the fearlings looked big from up high they looked even more massive when one was stuck on the ground and couldn't go anywhere. "Hi, you're big aren't you?" she decided to try and be friendly. "Can I see your teeth?"

The horse obliged by opening its mouth and revealed pure black teeth. Tooth shuddered and said, "You really need to brush more."

Sensing that she had just insulted it, the fearling rose up on its high legs and let out a loud roar.

"Help!" she yelled.

* * *

"Tooth is in trouble!" North shouted and ran for the sleigh.

"No time!" Jack said and sprang into the air. He flew in the direction of the scream, Jamie chasing after him. After a second of watching this North decided to join in and began following the two younger boys.

"What's all the fuss?" Bunny demanded as he caught up with North.

"Tooth is in trouble," the big Russian said.

"And we're trusting Mr. Amnesia here to save her?" Bunny raised an eyebrow.

North shrugged. "Neither one of us can catch up to her now, besides would you rather he watch Jamie?"

Bunny groaned. "I hate it when you're right," he grumbled as they increased their pace.

Jack was indeed the first to reach Tooth. Acting solely on instincts he fired an ice bolt at the fearling and it disappeared. "Are you all right?" he asked the Tooth Fairy worriedly.

Tooth nodded. "Thanks to you!" she squealed and flung her arms around him.

Jack's eyes grew wide and he simply stood there, shock warring with disbelief on his pale face.

"What's wrong?" Tooth asked as she pulled back to look at him.

"No, no one's ever touched me before," he replied in wonder. "Except when Bunny slapped me but that was it."

"Never?" Tooth felt like she was going to cry when he shook his head then her eyes narrowed when something occurred to her. "Did Bunny really slap you?"

"Yeah," the Spirit of Winter said.

"Bunny!" Tooth yelled. "Get over here right now!"

* * *

Meanwhile, in his cavern deep underground, Pitch stood and scowled at the Baby Tooth Fairies in their cages as they batted their little wings helplessly. "How could he have escaped my hold like that?" the Nightmare King growled. "I had complete control over him."

_But not over his powers,_ a voice said inside his head. _They are what destroyed your hold on him. Especially the North Wind._

"Treacherous North Wind," he grumbled. "It can't just let well enough alone, can it? Oh well. I can still destroy the Guardians even without Jack Frost's help."

* * *

A/N: Sorry this chapter is short too but it's no shorter than any of my other chapters. Hope this one wasn't too abrupt either. Let me know what you think. Please review and vote!


	13. Thinking About Jack Frost

Jack Frost

Chapter 12: Thinking About Jack Frost

It was with no small amount of trepidation that Bunny approached Tooth, knowing full well that behind her sweet, lovable nature hid a ruthless warrior. "Yes, Tooth?" he asked, wondering what he had done to make her so mad.

"Did you really slap Jack?" she asked sweetly.

Oh boy. Bunny swiftly tried to come up with an explanation but was eventually forced to nod his head. Yes, he had slapped Jack and yes he was rather proud of himself. But now he was wondering if he should have waited to do so until Tooth was distracted before giving in to his primal urges.

"Why did you slap him?" the Tooth Fairy wanted to know.

Bunny considered answering but figured that that would get him in even more trouble than he already was so he said nothing. A wise choice all things considered.

"It wasn't very nice of you," Tooth scolded. "Not very nice at all."

It was this point that Jack, who along with North, had been watching with wide-eyed interest stepped in. "Hey it's a lot nicer than having people walk though you," he said cheerfully.

It was also then that Bunny decided to put Jack on his list to receive Easter eggs every year. It seemed like such a small thing yet he had a feeling that it would really brighten the winter spirit's day. Evidently Tooth had gotten the same idea because she blinked suddenly and said, with a rather shaky voice, "I suppose it is."

"I can see you," Jamie put in suddenly, reminding the others that he was there.

"I know," Jack frowned in confusion. "But why? Oh well it doesn't matter. Where's Sandy? I wanna tell him about my first believer!"

The three remaining Guardians looked at each other uneasily but didn't answer.

Jack's smile sipped away in an instant as he caught on to what they weren't saying. "He's dead, isn't he? Did I kill him?"

North shook his head vehemently. "No, Jack, you did not hurt Sandy. Pitch Black killed him and then you made Pitch's fearlings go away. Sandy would have been proud."

"But he was my only friend," Jack whispered sadly as he stared at the ground.

Tooth opened her mouth to argue that they were his friends too but closed it again. They hadn't been there for Jack; they hadn't tried to aid him in finding believers or in how to control his powers. The truth was (and it hurt to admit this) they had never had time for the young spirit. But Sandy…Sandy had obviously gone out of his way to be nice to Jack and had been paid back in full. She lowered her head in sorrow; suddenly she felt very lonely indeed and not so much like a Guardian as a complete and utter failure. Idly she wondered if the others felt the same way. Something told her that they did.

North decided that he was officially the worst Guardian ever. Sandy was dead, their only hope of defeating Pitch had amnesia (and even if he regained his memory it was doubtful that he would help them) and the only believer left in the world was one small boy. Things were so hopeless looking at the moment. So hopeless…

What, Bunny decided, was the point of bringing hope and new beginnings to the world if there was no one to appreciate it? The way things were going all of them would likely end up frozen in a lake before they could see the first flowers of spring. And Pitch would be on top of the ice, laughing his head off. There was really no point in fighting after all. Pitch was going to win; he always did.

As he stood there in the snow, surrounded by his childhood heroes, Jamie decided that they were a very sorry bunch indeed. Tooth (as she'd insisted he call her) could no longer fly and kept mumbling about Baby Tooth Fairies while North and Bunny (yes his real name really _was_ Bunny) stared sadly at the ground. In fact, Jack was the only one left who seemed to be even a little bit optimistic as he frowned into the distance, snow falling around him. Jack Frost. A name Jamie had only before heard in songs (and didn't believe in) was now standing in front of him. But he didn't look anything like Jamie had imagined. In fact, he only looked to be a few years older than him. He was barefoot (which was _really_ weird) and wore some kind of old fashioned pants that actually went well with his blue hoodie. Frost decorated his entire outfit (at least that explained the name) and everything he touched either turned to ice or became decorated with a very beautiful leaf pattern. And he didn't act a day over ten either. Definitely weird but cool all the same. The two could probably become great friends if given the chance which Jamie highly doubted that they would have. Something told him that danger was lurking in the shadows around them and there were an awful lot of shadows…

* * *

A/N: The next person who complains how short the chapters are will get shot! I mean it! All of the chapters have been the exact same length! That's just the way I write. If you don't like it; deal with it! Okay through venting. Didn't get many reviews last chapter. Kind of disappointing. Please review and vote! 10 reviews please or no more chapters…thanks!


	14. Jack Has A Plan

Jack Frost

Chapter 13: Jack Has A Plan

"I have a plan," Jack announced to no one in particular.

"I'm sorry you have a what?" Bunny blinked in astonishment as all of the Guardians looked up at Jack.

"I have a plan," Jack repeated, looking slightly annoyed.

"What is it?" Jamie wanted to know, eagerness shining on his face.

Jack beamed at the boy then turned serious. "I think I remember where Pitch's lair is. We can mount a surprise attack on them or something if you guys want."

"I thought you didn't remember anything?" Tooth asked.

Jack scowled at her. "I said I _think_ I remember where it is. I'm not a hundred percent positive but…" his voice trailed off.

"Close enough," North declared. "You will take us to there and we will do battle with Pitch to the death."

"Um," Bunny raised a paw. "Aren't you forgetting somethin', mate? Namely, that me and Tooth are going to be about as helpful as the elves when it comes to building toys."

"I thought the elves did build the toys," Jack frowned in confusion and Jamie nodded vigorously.

North looked at them incredulously then broke out in laughter. "That is too funny," he wheezed when he had finally managed to stop. "Funny but entirely untrue. The yetis build the toys and the elves…they eat cookies. End of story."

"Good to know," Jack smiled deviously, causing North to fill just a little bit nervous. Just a little bit mind you but not too much. It would never do for a full-fledged Russian Guardian to be frightened by a mere winter spirit. "But before we leave there is one thing that I need to do," he adds.

"What's that?" Bunny asked.

Jack didn't answer but instead narrowed his eyes and stared at Jamie. Snow and wind flew around the young boy, carrying him to his front doorstep. Wind managed to blow the door open before closing behind the child. "He'll be safe now," Jack said confidently then turned and began flying in the opposite direction. "Keep up," he called. "It's a long way from here."

"He's dead meat as soon as this is over with," Bunny grumbled.

Tooth took one more wide-eyed look at the closed door then followed the others to North's sleigh where Jack sat, rather impatiently waiting for them.

"Where to?" North asked as he sat down.

"Oh don't worry about that," Jack waved one hand airily. "I already gave the directions to the reindeer. They'll take us there and in record time I imagine. Take us away!"

Immediately the reindeer took off, sending poor Bunny tumbling to the floor with a cry of surprise. Jack merely laughed at his discomfort and settled back to enjoy the ride.

* * *

It took Jamie less than a minute to reach his bedroom window but, by then; the sleigh had already taken off, the snowstorm going with it. "Good luck, guys," he called as he leaned out of his window, waving. "Good luck, Jack. I really hope you guys win. And, with that, he collapsed back on his bed, not bothering to take off his coat as he tried in vain to sleep. Just when he had finally managed to drift off he noticed glowing yellow eyes in the corner but them no mind as everything went black…

* * *

Jack was curiously silent the entire way to Pitch's lair, his blue eyes glowing with excitement as the sleigh did 'de-loop-de-loop' and the occasional smile but, otherwise, no emotion of any kind. But Jack was doing something that Jack rarely ever did and the Guardians (Bunny especially) believed him incapable of; he was thinking. No, more than that he was _remembering._ He could see Sandy fading out of existence, could feel his own helplessness and sorrow combined with rage. He could feel his own glee and then pain and finally empathy when Bunny became invisible. He could feel the outrage upon seeing the Baby Tooth Fairies locked into cages like…like mere birds when in reality they are so much…he can feel it all. He can see the genuine shock and disappointment in the Guardians' eyes when they realize that he has turned and for some reason the resignation in Sandy's eyes hurts a little bit.

A sudden bump alerts him that they have arrived and he looks up, anticipation and…something akin to fear but not quite, waging for supremacy. Anticipation eventually wins out, however, as he is still technically a child and children do not feel trepidation. He ignores the other three and uses the wind to control their descent into Pitch's lair. It is here that they will make their last stand and here where they will finally, hopefully, defeat Pitch for good and avenge Sandy's untimely death.

The sight of Pitch, however, standing there, one hand gripping Jamie's shoulder tightly while the boy grimaced in pain chases all thought out of Jack's mind. All thoughts except for one: _Pitch will pay for this._

* * *

A/N: Not as short as some chapters! Thanks for all the reviews and I really wasn't trying to be rude or anything; I just got a little tired of people complaining. Loved the reviews though! Think I'll keep that rule in place. Tomorrow's chapter might be a little late as I'm going to see Rise of the Guardians again (yay!) then buying all the books off Amazon. So, just letting you guys know. Thanks for reading, reviewing, and voting. Please vote and review soon please! 10 reviews per chapter! Thanks again!


	15. Battle Against Pitch

Jack Frost

Chapter 14: Battle Against Pitch

"Let him go!" Jack demanded, one hand unconsciously tightening around his staff while his mind ran over different scenarios on how to harm Pitch without harming Jamie. So far he hadn't come up with anything plus he was developing a killer migraine. Courtesy of trying to keep his powers in check of r just a few minutes while he put the finishing touches on his plan.

"I don't think so," Pitch said with a scowl. "I need a bargaining chip to make sure that I get out of here alive and virtually unharmed. So, how about you lower your weapons instead?"

Bunny snorted. "Fat chance, mate. There's no way that we would ever…"

He was interrupted by Jack who quickly held out his staff saying, "Here you go. Not let the boy go."

Pitch just laughed as he reached out for the staff, "I don't think so," he finally managed.

Now when Jack had been there earlier he had made it snow. And, after that, he had amused himself by drawing ice figures of all the Guardians on the walls. So when Pitch tried to take his staff Jack suddenly pulled back yelling, "Awake!"

As soon as the words left Jack's lips the ice figures woke up. They came to life, peeling themselves from the walls and entering the main cavern. There were dozens of them; ice bunnies with boomerangs, ice tooth fairies and even some North and Sandy ice figures

"Crikey," Bunny breathed. "They look so real."

"Of course they do," Jack sounded insulted. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to draw all those? And even then how much concentration it took to keep them on the walls? Well, do you?"

Bunny shook his head.

"Thought not," Jack muttered, a proud look crowing his ageless face.

"Your ice figures are certainly impressive," Pitch admitted. "But they are so still useless against my fearlings." He waved a hand and almost immediately about a dozen fearlings came running. "Let the battle begin!" Pitch shouted.

And with that the battle began. While the others were (including his ice figures) were fighting Pitch Jack took advantage of all the commotion to locate Jamie. Surprisingly the boy didn't look the worse for wear just a little tired. In fact, he seemed more concerned with how Jack was doing. "Now look, Jamie," Jack said sternly as he knelt down in front of Jamie so that they were eye to eye. "I need our help. Do you think you can help me?"

Jamie nodded so eagerly that Jack feared his head would fall off. "What do you need me to do?" he wanted to know.

In response Jack pointed to another cavern where, Jamie realized, he could suddenly hear chirping. "We need to rescue Tooth's fairies," he said. Then he rose into the air, grabbing Jamie around the waist as he did so, and flying towards the cavern where the Baby Tooth Fairies were.

* * *

Meanwhile, Bunny was forced to admit that the ice figures were actually doing some good. Sure they dissipated the instant someone touch them and a few burst into snow before actually taking care of a fearling but, all in all, they were definitely helping. Sure, Bunny had no idea where Jack was but even he figured it was probably exhausting having to control all of the various ice figures.

Suddenly they heard the sound of chirping and all of Tooth's fairies came flying in, much to the delight of Tooth who instantly declared that they were the most beautiful things she had ever seen. A few seconds later Jack and Jamie came back in, the former an interesting shade of grey as he flew towards them. He face was all scrunched up, an intense look of concentration on it as he sat Jamie down next to North. The second his feet touched the snow he wobbled for a second then latched hold of his staff, his balance improving only a little.

"Are you all right?" North asked worriedly.

Jack nodded then took a couple of deep breaths saying, "I'll be fine, really. Let's just take Pitch down and quick. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up."

Tooth frowned in worry as she recognized the tell-take sings of ice about to break. Small cracks were already running through their delicate, translucent bodies. "Then let's finish this!" she shouted and charged at Pitch, her fairies following. The other Guardians looked at each other, shrugged then followed her.

Only Jack didn't join in the fray, the ice figures and Jamie commanding all of his immediate attention. But, unfortunately, being forced to divide his attention meant that he couldn't keep a close eye on Jamie and in so doing failed to see the fearling approaching the young boy. Jamie would have called out for Jack but, knowing how busy he was, decided to face the dark horse on his own. "I'm not scared of you, you know," he told the horse, his voice sounding surprisingly brave and confident. The horse snorted but continued approaching. Jack swallowed nervously but stood his ground. When the horse finally approached Jamie tensed and closed his eyes but nothing happened. Upon realizing that he was still alive and in one piece Jamie cautiously opened his eye and could have passed out in relief upon seeing a golden man made out of sand in front of him. Knowing instantly that it was the Sandman (even though Jamie had never seen him before) Jamie broke out in a grin. "Hi, Sandman," he said. "It's good to finally meet you."

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry that this chapter is so late! But after I got out of the movie last night I locked my keys in my car and had a nervous breakdown in the parking. And when I finally did get home I was tired (I've literally had less than ten hours of sleep since Thursday!) I went straight to bed and just now got up. I hope you guys can forgive me and I'm only going to ask for three reviews for this chapter. Sorry again. Please vote and review! Thanks!


	16. Sandy vs Jack vs Pitch

Jack Frost

Chapter 16: Sandy vs. Jack vs. Pitch

"Sandy!" Bunny cried in delight when he spotted his old friend. "You whippersnapper! You had us all fooled!"

"If it isn't important then shut up," Jack spoke up. "It's hard enough concentrating without you guys interrupting me!"

"But Sandy's back!" Tooth cried.

Suddenly all the ice figures dissipated into little flakes of snow as Jack spun around to face them. Jack then literally flew over to the much smaller man and wrapped him in a big hug. "You're back! I though Pitch had killed you and oh I'm so sorry, Sandy! I really am!"

The words 'it's all right' appeared over Sandy's head as he returned Jack's hug with just as much vigor.

"Sandy!" North also sounded pleased to see the maker of dreams.

"Impossible!" Pitch roared, sounding very, very angry.

Sandy scowled at the Boogeyman and shook his finger at him, also very angry.

"This could get interesting," Jack grinned then, suddenly serious, turned to Sandy. "Want to finish this?"  
Sandy nodded vigorously and the two rose up into the air, heading straight towards Pitch.

Bunny stepped forward, a boomerang at the ready but was stopped by a large arm that had the word 'Nice' tattooed ON IT. "This fight is between zhe three of zhem. Ve should not interfere. Ve vill vait until they have asked for our help." His Russian accent became more pronounced as it often did when North was feeling emotional or just very tired.

"We'll be waiting a long time then," Bunny grumbled but returned the boomerang to its rightful spot.

* * *

Jack and Sandy were quiet as they flew to face their common enemy. Jack because he was pondering over everything that had happened that night and Sandy because…well Sandy had never talked. At least not since becoming a Guardian that is anyways.

"Prepare to face your doom, Guardians," Pitch sneered as he let loose all of the fearlings.

"Ready?" Jack whispered to his silent companion. Sandy nodded in confirmation and the two friends smiled at each other then attacked.

Sandy used his whips to take down many of the fearlings while Jack fired ice blasts one after the other. All too soon (at least in Pitch's mind that is) all of the fearlings were gone, leaving just the three very powerful beings to face one another.

"Well," Pitch said, breaking the silence. "I must admit that I wasn't expecting you, Sanderson, and that's why I failed. But I shall be prepared next time!" And before the others could even blink he was gone, the only evidence of his ever having there were the patches of black sand mixed with ice…

* * *

The Guardians blinked in astonishment then surged forward to greet their victorious friends. "You did great!" Tooth squealed as she hugged Jack, the Baby Tooth Fairies all swarming around him, happily chirping.

"Not so bad for someone not much bigger than an ankle biter," Bunny admitted. "But I still haven't forgiven you for the Blizzard of '68."

"Good job, Jack," North said, clapping the boy on the shoulder, causing him to stumble and nearly lose his footing. Even Sandy gave him two thumbs up.

"That was awesome!" Jamie yelled. "Totally cool! Can we do it again?"

"No!" All the Guardians (and Jack) said in unison, causing Jamie to snigger which soon turned into full blown laughter. The others looked confused for a minute then joined in; Jack's silvery laughter mixed in with North's much deeper baritones.

After a few minutes Jack finally calmed down enough to say, "We need to get you home, Jamie. It's getting pretty early and your parents will be up soon. We don't want them to freak out again like they did the time that you and your friends camped out in your yard waiting for Bigfoot to show up."

"You know about that?" Jamie's voice was full of wonder.

Jack snorted playfully. "Who do you think made it snow so hard that you guys _had _to go back inside?"

"The snow day when I forgot to study for my English test?" Jamie wanted to know.

"Guilty as charged," Jack took a low bow, sweeping off an imaginary Hat as he did so.

"Jack," Tooth spoke up before the two could leave.

"What is it?" Jack's eyes sparkled but the thin line where his mouth should be said that this had better be important.

"Offer still stands," North said. "You can still be Guardian."

"You might not be that bad," Bunny said reluctantly. "Although I wouldn't advise taking my eyes off of you for another sixty years. At least."

Jack hesitated and looked down at Jamie who nodded eagerly then at Sandy who was also nodding. "Okay, okay," he sighed, holding up his hand sin mock surrender. "I'll join the Guardians. But no shoes!"

"Agreed," North said the pulled out the thick book from somewhere on his personage. "Let's get started."  
Jack looked around at the Guardians, at the Baby Tooth Fairies and at Jamie who stood there, his eyes full of hero worship as he stared at the winter spirit. Jack blinked away sudden tears of happiness and turned his attention back to North. He had family now. He was finally home…

* * *

A/N: Last chapter! Yay! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Oh and in case if you were wondering why Pitch left so suddenly it's because he's a coward (duh!) and the Guardians were too excited about having Sandy back to pay him any attention. Thanks so much for reviewing and I hope you guys liked it! And as of now the poll is now closed. If you still want to vote but don't have an account just tell me which story you want done first in your review and I'll count it too. Okay? Thanks again! Must have 20 reviews before posting new story though. Thanks and have a good night to you all!


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